Monday, June 1, 2009

10:13 AM

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind argued that the Democrats' plan for health care reform would save billions of dollars annually, while U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan warned that the plan would lead to rationed care on Sunday's "UpFront with Mike Gousha."

Kind, D-La Crosse, said that getting health care costs under control would have a "huge impact on public and private budgets."

"If we're going to have sustainable growth in this country with good job creation, we've got to deal with health care reform," Kind said.

The Democrats' approach would allow people to continue with their current employer-sponsored plan and also offer a government-run option. Additionally, it would revamp regulations to focus on quality over volume, Kind said.

"It is going to be about choice, but is also going to be about cost containment and how we revamp the incentive system so at the end of the day we're rewarding outcomes and quality rather than more volume and consumption," Kind said.

Ryan, R-Janesville, warned that the Democrats' plan for a government-run option would eventually lead to a government monopoly that would result in rationed care.

Ryan said the Republican plan to provide a $5,700 refundable tax credit for individuals to purchase private insurance coupled with health insurance reforms that encourage wellness and require companies to cover preexisting conditions would be a better option.

"You can have universal insurance in this country for everybody, regardless of preexisting conditions, without the government running the whole system," Ryan said.

Ryan said the government run option would eventually become a monopoly because the private insurance offered through employers would become unaffordable. This he said, would lead to rationed care.

While Ryan said the plan shows there is an alternative to the Democrats' plan, he conceded it's unlikely to be adopted.